Pages

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Homemade Almond Paste

I hope all who are celebrating Father's Day enjoy the day and are appropriately spoiled by their children. I found this quotation I thought you might enjoy. "By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." -- Charles Wadsworth

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Sometimes necessity really is the mother of invention. I committed to make a European-style muffins, flavored with almond paste, for a Father's Day brunch. They aren't difficult to make and they really are delicious. Under normal circumstances, it would be a pleasure, not a problem, to make them for everyone. Lest you think Murphy sleeps once you're in retirement, we really need to have a chat. I live in a community where you can buy almost any ingredient, at least at Christmas time. Once stocks of specialty items like candied fruit are gone, that's it for the year. The trend is creeping down the food chain and we've all learned to buy a year's supply of pumpkin and fresh cranberries while they are available. I was taken aback today, when what I thought would be a quick dash to market, turned into a cook's tour of community grocery stores. I was looking for almond paste. I couldn't find any and in a fit of pique spoke badly of all grocers west of the Hudson River. My thoughts were very colorful and I apologize to any whose relatives I denigrated. Fortunately, my better angels, armed with steely resolve took control and came up with a plan to make almond paste and get on with the remains of the day. I used the recipe from an old Taste of Home yearbook and I was really happy with the results. I actually made two versions of the almond paste. One was a from scratch effort that required blanching of whole almonds before they were ground and mixed with the sugar and egg white. The second effort used prepackaged pulverized almond meal. Interestingly enough, there was no difference in the taste of the two batches. There was, however, an enormous differences in the color of the paste they produced. The one made from the purchased meal was an unappealing tan in color and could not be used in recipes where color is important. The batch made from the blanched almonds was far more appealing and is the one I used to cook with today. The almond paste is easy to make if you have a blender or food processor, and while I wouldn't recommend its use in all applications, it worked well in the muffins I prepared. Here's the recipe. This is a great one to keep in your files for a rainy day.Homemade Almond Paste...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Taste of HomeIngredients:1-1/2 cups blanched almonds1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar1 egg white1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:1) Place almonds in a food processor; cover and process until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar, egg white, extract and salt; cover and process until smooth. 2) Divide almond paste into 1/2-cup portions. I like to roll each portion into a sausage shape and store them in airtight containers. Refrigerate for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 3 months. Yield: 1-1/2 cup.

I've had the same problem here in Germany with many ingredients I had to make myself, most tome not because of the season but because they don't exist here. Ditto on the almond paste. I also used the blanched almonds. Next time I will give your recipe a go.

They say necessity is the mother of invention and I would say that applied to your situation Mary. I'm so happy to have this recipe as I make a cake that uses 1 1/2 tubes of almond paste and, like you, sometimes it's difficult to find. With that amount of almonds, it also explains why almond paste is so expensive.

Actually I made the cake I'm talking about yesterday to take to the blogger get-together today in Tennessee. Hope Bob has a happy Father's day.Sam

Oh no, nothing worse than your grocery store letting you down when you're desperate for an ingredient! But,home made is always better anyways, and I'm sure your muffins will come out that much more delicious. :-)

You are so right about not being able to find certain ingredients outside of the holiday season. I use almond paste to make kransekage - the Danish celebration cake made from rings of almond dough, baked and then set one on top of the other. I'll have to file this recipe for the future - thank you!PS I can't imagine you being flustered in a grocery store!

I love this recipe! I used it recently for a Bakewell tart since I always have blanched almond meal on hand. Turned out fabulous. I love that you can tailor it to make the exact amount you need so there is no waste or leftover. And with my serrated food processor blade, it was the exact consistency of store bought. Woot!

I hate it when that happens! And in Cayman it could be something that everywhere in the world has. And item you wouldn't for an instant think wouldn't be available. But you are not one to be deterred :) Well done!

I always run into the same problem - I assume that the grocery will carry something I need, I go, and just my luck, it's nowhere to be found! Good to know you could remedy this one by making it yourself =)

I still have one store in town that sells almond paste and marzipan. Sometimes it is hard though and I have to pick it up in the town about 1.5 hours away. I have made Marzipan (from scratch)with my mom whe I was a girl -- we weren't so successful. Good to know that the amond meal will work. I adore Marzipan. Joni

I love this recipe, because I think everything's better homemade. I posted my adaptation on my blog and would just love if you'd come take a look :) Here's the link: http://piesandplots.net/almond-paste/

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information with third-parties nor does it store information about your visit for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at anytime by modifying your Internet browser's settings. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a a users prior visits to this website. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads. This blog is not responsible for the republishing of the content found here on other Web sites or media without the owners permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice